Goodbyes
by Amalythea
Summary: Natsume has a dangerous run in with a Yokai disguised as a schoolgirl that isn't after the Book of Friends, or really him personally.


The day was as regular as it could get for Natsume. Aside from the odd Yokai here and there, everyone was human.

Everything was safe. At least, so he thought.

As Natsume made his way to his class, a girl bumped into him and tripped in the hallway. As she sprawled onto the ground, Natsume grasped her arm and caught her. The moment they touched, she smiled.

After helping the strange new student to her feet, she smiled at him and dashed away down the hallway.

"W-wait!" He called after her, but the strange girl didn't respond. Natsume frowned, concerned.

As school ended and Natsume headed outside, he caught a glimpse of the strange girl going behind the school gate. He ran after her, and saw her dash behind a tree. The cycle of running and small glimpses of her repeated until Natsume found himself deep in the woods. As usual, he thought. Caught up in something the Yokai were plotting.

Natsume stopped running to catch his breath, leaning against a large boulder. Where was she? What was she? Yokai or human? And why was she at Natsume's school?

Natsume looked about for a moment, deciding that if the Yokai wanted something from him, she would find him again.

Suddenly, Natsume felt a hand grasp the back of his shirt collar. His eyes widened as someone - or someTHING - pulled him backwards into a cave of some sort.

Everything around him went dark no sooner than he had cried out, and through the inky blackness he spotted the strange student before something hard hit him in the head, knocking him clean out.

Madara's ears lifted ever so slightly, like little radars, searching again for that little pinprick of noise that he'd heard only a moment before. Was Natsume in trouble?

The Yokai laid his head back on his paws as Tanuma held him on his lap.

"Is something wrong?" Tanuma asked, noticing the lucky cat's ears perk up.

"It's nothing... I just thought I heard Natsume somewhere. He's probably fine." Madara commented casually.

"Probably?!" Tanuma cried. "I'll look for him, just to make sure." He shoved the fat cat off of his lap and stood up. Madara grumbled and plopped onto the ground.

"I guess I should help, too, then."

Natsume came to slowly. He was stiff, and laying on a cold, wet, and hard surface. The floor of a cave. He had a slight itch on his head, and tried to reach up and scratch it, but something bound him. It was odd.

That's when Natsume fully awoke. That's when he noticed that this time there was no escaping whatever Yokai had trapped him here, for whatever purpose.

The paper that had been used to bind his hands before now was wrapped around his arms, his legs, and stuck over his mouth. He lay on the floor of a cave, but the moisture wasn't water. The ground was dotted with puddles of blood.

"So you finally woke up," a girl's voice spoke from the darkness. Natsume couldn't see her, but she was very close. "Now I can start..."

Natsume felt something extremely cold touch his face and immediately his entire body burned. Pain flooded his senses, and he writhed on the ground, attempting a scream, but it was muffled by the scrap of paper. It felt as if he was being ripped limb from limb. As Natsume thrashed about in pain, the sharp uneven floor of the cave floor cut his arms and legs, tearing through the fabric of his clothes.

Then, as soon as it had come, the pain receded with the hand of the Yokai. Natsume laid there on the ground, his wounds stinging lightly, panting to catch his breath. He was sore from flailing about on the ground, but it would happen again, he was certain of that.

"Oh that felt nice," the Yokai sighed. It was now that Natsume noticed the pain in her voice. The strained tone was clear now. "I do hope you don't mind if I do this again."

Natsume let out a muffled protest, trying to squirm further away, but he had no clue where the Yokai was.

Suddenly, from his other side, the voice spoke once more. "I bet you wonder why it hurts."

She gave him a light tap, and for a split second agonizing pain exploded all through him.

"Because I'm a Yokai of pain. I bear it with me always. And you're the only person strong enough to take it. So take it! Take it from me!" The girl Yokai shrieked, wrapping her hands around Natsume's neck.

Natsume felt the pain blossoming once more. It was worse this time. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. Everything hurt. It was agonizing. Natsume screamed in pain, but the paper over his mouth muffled it again. Natsume curled up on the ground, tears flowing from his eyes in two thick streams. He prayed for it to stop, as he lay there, whimpering in agony, his face soaking wet. The paper over his mouth became moist, and peeled off of Natsume's face, but he didn't notice.

Finally the Yokai's hands left Natsume's neck, and the pain receded.

"What do you really want?" Natsume managed to whisper. His voice was hoarse from the constriction on his throat. The young girl Yokai had nearly crushed his neck, she was so strong. A sudden thought flitted across his mind. "If you keep me here, Madara will find me, and that means he'll find you, too."

The female Yokai laughed and stroked Natsume's face gently. The contact wasn't solid, but it was enough to elicit a spasm from him. "Madara? You mean the white pig cat? I'm not concerned about him! His light can't do anything down here."

Natsume shivered as something dripped onto the floor beside his face. "I could eat you if I wanted," the Yokai continued. "And that fool couldn't do anything about it."

Another drop fell, this time landing on Natsume's cheek. It burned like fire as it rolled down the side of his face.

"Then eat me. You won't benefit from it." Natsume tried to be brave. "If you want the Book of Friends then just say so."

There was silence, which worried Natsume. His eyes darted around, seeing if he could begin to discern anything in the pitch darkness. Something biting cold tapped Natsume's forehead and a wave of pain shot through his body.

"That sounds like a good idea, actually. Where is this book you speak of?" Natsume could feel the Yokai's hot, moist breath on his face. Another drop fell, landing to the right of his nose, close to his mouth. It left a burning sensation where it rolled down the side of his face.

Natsume was confused for a moment. She didn't want the book? "If you didn't want it, you won't get it. But if that wasn't your reason then why me?"

She laughed again, right in Natsume's left ear, causing him to flinch. "Because you are stronger than the other humans spiritually. You can see Yokai. I need to get rid of my pain, you see, or else an ancient curse will seal me, and a human is who it must be released on. I figured you could take more of it before you died, so that I could use less humans."

Natsume shivered at the mention of his own death, then gave a very quiet whimper. She was right that he would die if this kept up. He knew that. It was as Nyanko Sensei always said. He was a weakling, a wimp! Not to mention this was no average Yokai. Sure, Natsume could take out some low or mid ranking buffoons, but this time it was serious.

Still determined to hold out until Madara arrived, Natsume decided to taunt the Yokai. Probably not the best decision to make in that moment, but probably would also buy him some time. "Fine then," he spat. "Come on! I can take it, just you try to kill me!"

Natsume felt the hot Yokai breath on his face as it moved down to his shoulder. Something sharp began to close on it and he fought his restraints.

Suddenly, Natsume felt sharp teeth spear through his shoulder, his own blood splattered onto his face. His terrified expression was wasted in the pitch darkness as he felt a frostbitten hand close over his mouth.

That was when Natsume really screamed.

Madara immediately perked up, his ears swiveling in the direction the scream had come from. He and Tanuma had been searching the woods around the school for what seemed like hours, but had only been roughly thirty minutes.

"He's that way!" The lucky cat hissed, dashing off into the forest.

Tanuma, surprised by the cat's sudden exclamation, stumbled after him. "Wait up, Nyanko!"

The two of them dodged between trees and through bushes until they reached a rock wall. A literal cliff in the middle of the forest.

They broke into an open area filled with boulders and Madara came to a sudden stop. Tanuma tried to do the same, but wound up skidding and tripping over the giant cat's body.

When Tanuma tensed, awaiting ridicule for tripping over Madara, he was surprised to hear none. Instead there was a faint hissing. Tanuma looked back to see the lucky cat fluffed up to twice his usual size.

"Can you hear him?" Madara asked the schoolboy.

Tanuma paused a moment, listening carefully. The wind blew gently and slightly rustled the leaves of the trees surrounding, when Tanuma heard a faint screaming.

He turned to Madara in shock, but the cat signaled for him to keep listening. As Tanuma continued to listen to the agonized screaming, he began to notice that it sounded also like crying at the same time. Light laughter could be heard quieter.

Tanuma turned to Madara once more. "Where is it coming from?" He said, panicking. The fear that Tanuma felt then was very real. Fear that Natsume was actually being hurt right then. It had to be a powerful Yokai. Why else would Madara be terrified of it?

The lucky cat suddenly vanished, leaving Tanuma there alone. The schoolboy assumed it was to get help, but was still creeped out nonetheless.

Madara returned several minutes later with the exorcist. The cat had suddenly dropped into the clearing, Natori following closely behind.

"Nice entrance." Tanuma commented sarcastically, referring to how he had fallen from the sky with a lucky cat.

"This isn't the time for humor," Madara interrupted. "Natsume is in danger and we don't know where the entrance is to where he's been hidden. I figured Natori could help with that."

The Yokai banisher nodded solemnly and listened. Once again the clearing was silent, broken only intermittently by the faint screaming and laughing. Natori looked immediately at a rather large boulder. "That seems to be the location," he said. "But I can't gauge how powerful the Yokai that captured Natsume is."

Tanuma couldn't suppress a snort of laughter. "The white pig cat fill you in?"

"I said this is no time for humor!" Madara snapped, dashing over to the supposed entryway. He huffed indignantly and transformed once more, shoving the rock aside from the entryway. To Tanuma the cat had simply disappeared and the rock shoved aside by some invisible force. The screaming became clearer.

"Natori, Tanuma, does either of you have a flashlight?" Madara asked the prior.

Tanuma turned to Natori. "Is he talking yet?"

When the crash from above sounded, the schoolgirl Yokai paused a moment, her hand still around Natsume's neck, squeezing tightly as he writhed under her hand.

He grasped her arm and tried to pull it away, but to no avail. She finally loosened her grip and the pain dulled to the point of triggering mild spasms.

When Natsume heard footsteps coming nearer, his hopes rose.

That was, until, the Yokai placed a finger near Natsume's open eye. He could feel the cold air flowing down off of it onto his right eye.

"Don't move, or talk, or I'll gouge out your eye. And believe me that it won't be pretty when I'm finished with it." The Yokai's words were deadly calm, sending a shiver up Natsume's spine.

Natsume slowly took in a large breath...

"HELP!"

Natori heard the cry before the others. "Hurry," he said urgently, breaking into a full run down the massive tunnel. "Tanuma, you take care of Natsume, Madara and I will get rid of whatever Yokai is attacking him."

Tanuma nodded and moved to run slightly behind Natori. He trusted the exorcist to do what he usually did. All that Tanuma needed to do was what he usually did. Be there for Natsume.

There was a flash of light from a special explosive match Natori held, but Tanuma was nearly certain that Madara had lent his own Yokai-banishing light to the illuminating flash.

There, on the floor, was Natsume. Natori had leapt off elsewhere to chase the Yokai, so Tanuma assumed as he rushed to Natsume's side.

As he approached, it became clear that his friend was not in good shape. His face, neck, hands, and most of his arms were frostbitten, and he was covered with little cuts and bruises. His right shoulder was torn open and bleeding freely, as if some wild dog had attacked Natsume. What was stranger, though, was that his face had a couple of minor burns, and was soaking wet from his tears. He had a large open cut down the side of his face, unnervingly near to his right eye.

"Natsume? Natsume! Natsume!" Tanuma called his name repeatedly. When Natsume didn't move, it concerned him. What if it was too late? What if Natsume was dead? Tanuma stopped for a moment. If Natsume was dead... Would that mean he had failed him as a friend? Would that mean that it was Tanuma's fault Natsume was dead?

Tanuma forced himself to look away from Natsume's wounds and see why he was so stiff. It seemed like he was bound, but Tanuma couldn't see anything that was tying him. Determined to free his friend, Tanuma rubbed Natsume's arms until he felt a paper like substance. It must have been what was tying him down! Tanuma grasped the Yokai paper and ripped it in two, and did the same to the paper around Natsume's hands and ankles.

Natsume still hadn't moved. Tanuma couldn't even tell if he was breathing.

Natori suddenly spoke from behind him. "He doesn't look to well," the exorcist commented.

Tanuma whipped around. "What happened to the Yokai who caught him?"

Natori sighed. "Taken care of. She was a strong one up until we got rid of her. She seemed to be a Yokai with the capability to inflict pain upon contact, and the air surrounding her was freezing cold except for her breath. She won't be bothering Natsume again."

Madara appeared beside Tanuma in lucky cat form. "If there is an again, that is."

Tanuma, shocked at the words of the cat, looked at him in disbelief. "No! Natsume can't die now. Not today. If he dies..."

"You'll feel responsible." Natori finished Tanuma's sentence, looking at Natsume. His expression was unreadable in that moment. "If Natsume dies, you're going to feel that it's your fault for not being here on time to save him. That it's your fault for not being with him. Correct?"

Tanuma looked at the exorcist, then back at Natsume, giving a weak nod of confirmation.

"Well," Natori said. "It's okay if you want to blame yourself for Natsume's death, but it will only drag you down. You don't need to take responsibility for this. You couldn't have done anything to save him in this situation."

Tanuma blinked and nodded slowly, looking over at Natsume, waiting for him to do something that showed he was still alive, wanting him to sit up and look at him one more time and tell him those words that he always said.

"Hey," a voice in Tanuma's head said. "It's nothing, I'm fine."

He shook his head sadly. He knew that Natsume wasn't going to be saying that. Tanuma grasped his friend's limp hand. It was freezing cold.

Madara gave a sigh. "I'll stick around for a bit before I take the book and leave."

Tanuma slipped one hand under Natsume's neck and the other under his legs, picking him up. "We need to tell Touko-San."

Natori blinked. "His adoptive mother? Don't you think that could be a little risky?"

Tanuma shook his head. "If I died or went missing I know my father would want to know what happened to me instead of worrying endlessly."

Tanuma laid Natsume down in the yard and Madara hopped onto his chest. "I'll guard him until his mother has her last goodbye. Then I'll be taking the Book of Friends and leaving."

Natori nodded. "We won't be long."

As Natori looked up to find the door, he saw that Tanuma was already standing there. A moment later the door slid open.

Natori walked quickly to Tanuma's side and spoke before he could. "Sorry to bother you, but may we enter for a moment? There's..." He looked to Tanuma as if to silently ask permission to speak. "There's something we need to speak with you about.

"Yes, of course, you boys can come in. Here, have a seat in that room. I'll be right there."

Less than a minute later, everyone was situated inside of the room. Tanuma avoided making eye contact with Touko. "So, what was it you boys wanted?"

Tanuma's expression changed to a sad, pained one at the happiness in Natsume's foster mother's voice. "N-Natsume... Natsume is... He..." The black haired boy stopped there, unable to bring himself to say it.

Natori stepped in. "Natsume is no longer with us," he said slowly. "He was a great friend. We tried to help him, but we were too late."

Touko was confused for a moment. "Wh-what?" She stuttered, seemingly in shock.

Tanuma, who had until that point been moping about and refusing to make eye contact, slammed his fists on the table between them. "Natsume is dead!" He cried. "I'm sorry... It's all my fault! I was too slow to save him...!"

Natori grabbed Tanuma's shoulders and held him still, as if he would snap and break something any moment. Touko simply sat there, her smile completely gone from her face.

"T-thank you." Natsume's adoptive mother said. "Thank you for telling me." Tears welled in her eyes. "D-do you have him with you? So I can say goodbye properly...?"

Tanuma nodded slowly and stood, leading Touko and Natori outside and into the yard where Natsume lay, the lucky cat cat sitting on his unmoving chest. Before they came they had used Madara's power to heal Natsume's burns and frostbite, as well as the gash down the side of his face. All that was left was a small scar below his left eye.

Touko, at the sight of Natsume laying there, began running towards his body. When she reached her adoptive son, the woman collapsed to her knees, kneeling there on the grass beside him. She tenderly grasped his cold hand and held it close to her heart. There were no words spoken in that moment. There didn't need to be.

Invisible to Toukou and Tanuma, Yokai gathered around. The mid-ranking ones, Misuzu, and others that Natsume had met on his travels.

Tears rolled down Touko's face as she hugged the dead boy's hand. As a few of them rolled down his arm, the woman paused and turned to Tanuma and Natori.

"His hand... Is getting warmer. Is that supposed to happen?"

Tanuma immediately reacted, diving for Natsume's other side and grasping his arm. He checked for a pulse... And he found one. It was weak and very fluttering, but he found a pulse.

"Natori! He's still alive! He must have been just unconscious the entire time!" Tanuma looked at Natsume as his chest started moving again, despite ever so slightly.

Then Natsume started coughing. His chest heaved with the rattling coughs, forcing him to sit up. His reddish eyes opened again.

Madara on the grass made an audible moan. Oh sometimes how he wished his charge was dead.

Natsume looked about. "Tanuma? Natori?" He blinked, confused. "Touko?"

She embraced him tightly. "Don't ever scare me like that again!"

Natsume, although confused, tentatively reached out and hugged his mother in return.


End file.
